The Value of Timing in Tactics

by Zbigniew Czajkowski

"Fencing is a game of subtlety, and bluff can be met with counter-bluff" Charles L. de Beaumont

The following could be considered among the most important aims of a tactical fight and the most salient aspects in fencing.

Very generally one may say that the main purpose of a fencing action is to forestall or be ahead of
the opponent. In epee this is literal.One has to forestall the opponent
in time. A hit, to be valid has to be a fraction of a second earlier.
In sabre and foil forestalling takes a more subtle form. A sabreur or
foilist, when counter-attacking, must either close the line of the
opponent's attack or be ahead in a period of fencing time. In offensive
actions he fights to be ahead in gaining the right of way - he must be
first to initiate the attack and that not only in his own but,above all,
in the president's opinion. The conception of forestalling or keeping
ahead of the opponent is expressed not only by the mere speed of
movement but also, and perhaps above all, by the necessity for more
selective and acute perception and by the necessity for faster
translation of information. To put the idea colloquially the fencer has
to be a thought ahead of his opponent.

A factor of immense tactical importance is surprise -
the ability to act in a way unpredictable for the opponent. The more
skillfulthe fencer in exploiting this element of surprise, the less his
opponent will be able to anticipate the time, speed type and intention
of the action employed.

A
very important feature and aim of tactical combat is the ability to
gain the appropriate distance in a situation most inconvenient for the
opponent. For example, if, after manoeuvring,one gains lunging distance
at a moment when the opponent is concentrated and waiting for an attack,
it is not sufficient. It is far more valuable to gain the distance when
the opponent is temporarily off balance, not concentrated or expecting
something quite different. Generally speaking,one may state that
practically all fencing actions and the accompanying them aim, in a way,
at gaining "nearness" while preserving combat initiative.

Of
equal importance in tactics is recognition and understanding of the
opponent's actions and intentions, at the same time concealing one's
own.and misleading him (confusion of display).

Tactics
in their application are connected with technique and other factors of
training and fights. This point will be discussed below.

The
main task of tactical fencing activities are: a) to avoid beeing hit,
b) to prepare an action and, c) to score a hit. These tasks are given
here in a logical time sequence, but in practice they are intermingle.

Purposeful
and efficient application of tactical principles on the strip depends
upon the general physical fitness, technical skill and degree of
psychological preparedness.

The ability to conduct a bout and use proper tactics is closely connected with the fencer's psychological state, his power of concentration and self control Undue
nervousness, over excitation, lack of confidence,overestimation of the
opponent's strength, apathy, insufficient warming up, prevalence of
inhibitory processes - all these factors may hamper the fencer in
conduction a tactical bout, realisation of tactical solutions and
display of his technical abilities. Conversely, self control, adequate
degree of excitation and consciousness of his own experience and
technical tactical abilities positively influence the psychological
state of the fencer, increasing his calm assurance, dexterity and
courage in action.

For
tactics to be successful careful attention must be paid to choice of
time. Every fencer, even one who has just begun to do loose play, has
been told and realises from experience how important it is to choose the
right time for attacking his opponent. Of course we realise that the
expression"choice of time" is inadequate. There is also a question of
distance,tactical situation and taking the opponent b surprise, all of
which make a very complicated phenomenon nearly as difficult to describe
as the conception of time or space.

It
has been noticed long ago that certain situations are more conductive
to scoring a hit. This has been called in English "timing" or "choice of
time", in Italian "scelta di tempo", in french "L'a propos". The
expression used by Polish fencers "zaskoczenia" (literal translation
-"surprise") or "wyczucie zaskoczenia" (feeling of surprise) better
depicts the situation than an expression which only considered the
element of time.

Most
fencers textbooks, while stressing the element of "choice of
time"delicately side step the difficult problem of defining, describing
and discussing it.

The well-known fencing masters Paul Battesti and Louis Prost simply call it the ability to choose the moment most
favourable for the execution of a fencing action. Kazimerz Laskowski,
the director of the military school of fencing before the war in Warsaw
stated that "tempo or surprise is the moment of taking unaware an opponent who, at that particular moment, is hit most easily by an unexpected action".

Janos Kevey gives his conception of timing as follows: "by the expression Tempo we mean the moment which
is the most favourable for the beginning and execution of fencing
action... in such a moment the opponent is helpless and not capable of
making a defensive moment".

The Hungarian author of a known textbook on sabre fencing Zoltan Ozoray Schenker wrote "a fencer must catch the momentwhen his opponent is totally or partially incapable of an action", and "such favourable moments occur
when the opponent executes badly thought out purposeless blade
movements or footwork, when his attention is distracted and his
readiness for action is diminished. Such moments occur also when the
opponent is, for example, preoccupied with planning the bout or is
distressed by its unsuccessful course".

"L'a
propos... c'est l'art de profiter des inattentions ou des
fautesadverses a l'instant precis ou elles se produissent". Paul
Clery.Well known to British readers, Professor Leon Bertrand in his "Cut
and Thrust" describes timing in slightly more detail and in combination
with other elements. He advises that, in construction of attacks the
fencer should employ three essentials: "what the Italians call 'scelta
di tempo -choice of time, judgement of distance and speed. They are
three further lodes in the main stratum. The first is by far the most
important of the tree. Assuming the possession of the highest technique,
the sabreur stands or falls by the presence or lack of this vital
sense. Choice of time means the selection of psychosocial moment to
launch the offensive. It means executing the moment when your opponent
is unprepared or least expects it. That is choice of time in broadest
significance. The final definition of 'scelta di tempo' is the seizing
of the precise fraction of a second to move at the slightest sign of
mental irresolution on the part of your rival. He may be keyed up to the
highest pitch of concentration yet that fractional measure of time must
come when, by some movement of thought,that concentration wavers. This
lapse must be reflected by some sign,in infinitesimal perhaps, but it is
your "cue", your signal, and on this golden opportunity you must act
immediately. If we could imagine a highly sensitive machine registering a
graph of your adversary's mental concentration, we should visulise an
undulation line and we should attack with every downward turn of the
pen, with the recording of each depression".

Generally
it is accepted that when a fencer catches his opponent by surprise,when
the opponent is off balance and not fully concentrated that the fencer
haschosen the right "tempo". Everybody knows that it is extremely
difficult to sustain the highest concentration of attention for a very
long time and invariablylapses of attention occur in a bout; a fencer,
concentration on his own attack,may forget about his defence; a
competitor manoeuvring on the strip may expose himself dangerously to
his opponent's action; a fencer executing blade movements may open
certain lines of his target - such and similar situations may betaken
advantage of for surprise action. The ability to take advantage of
andinstantly take advantage of such situations is usually inborn but it
may be further developed by special exercises and constitutes the "sixth
sense" of afencer.

When
describing the clever seizing of opportunity to score a hit and in the
majority of definitions (see above) the expression of "movement" and
"time" are commonly used. Even the names given to the "sixth sense" of
the fencer byvarious fencing schools are closely connected with the
conception of time. And yet it is very obvious that this is not a question of mere time.
The opportune application of an action in a bout, taking the opponent
unawares isclosly connected with many factors of the tactical situation
such as distance,movements of the two fencers, the opponent's state of
attention etc. etc.

"Timing"
or fencers "feeling for surprise" may be, perhaps, a little moreexatly
described as the choice of occasion, closley connected with theopponents
activities and attitude with the general situation of a bout, most
favourable for the successful execution of an action.

A
fencer may take advantage of potentially suitable situations or he may
himself create situations suitable to his purpose by careful preparatory
action. The above definition, like all attempts at simple definitions
of complicated phenomena, is inadequate. In order to better understand
the "scelta di tempo", so complex and difficult to define, and yet so
important in fencing, we have todiscuss it more fully on the base of
personal experience as competitor andcoach, observation of many
tournaments, reflections and literature.

The
right choice of time using the expression in English for as I know no
better expression in English, means, in a very broad sense,: to
surprise, to attack, to take by surprise etc.

Prof.
Tadeusz Kotarbinski, one of the creators of phraseology, writing his
general theory of conflict, when talking about surprise, stated: "We may
assume that taking the opponent unaware derives its technical value
from anticipation and from misleading the opponent or, at least, from
taking advantage of the opponent's mistakes or lack of knowledge" (this
last here meaning lack of information or inadequate appreciation of the
situation).

Let
us now analyse this element in a fencing fight. Since a tactical
intention (task, resolution, solution) has changes of success only
whenit is executed in the right time (Greek "kairos", French "l'a propos" Russian "moment") and is adequate to a given solution it
is obvious that it is very important a) to be able to seize the
opportunity to launch anattack or any other, b) to display psychological
resitence in view ofthe opponent' sudden attack.

Every manifestion of "timing" ("fencing surprise") understood as an opportunity to score a hit, has two aspects:

a
situation - a complex of conditions - giving possibilities of reciving a
hit (being caught unaware, being attacked when one least expects it.).
This might be called "negative time" or "negative surprise".

a
situation favourable to scoring a hit (catching the opponent by
surprise, catching the opponent unaware). This might be called"positive
time" or "positive surprise".

Neither
positive nor negative time occurs separately. In a fight they occur as
two aspects of the same situation, comprising both external and
psychological factors. What is "positive" for one fencer is"negative"
for his opponent and vice versa.

The
full an successful taking advantage of right timing - "positive
surprise" - i.e. scoring a hit, may happen only with the occurrence of
adequate complex of various factors such as distance, speed,
movements,attention etc. The feeling for "fencing surprise" is inborn
but, under the influence of training, it improves in that: a) the
ability to recognise and take advantage of appropriate situations
increases with practice and experience b) the resistance to opponent's
surprise action is also increased. "Negative surprise" often leads to
temporary escape of technique, both in standard of execution and
repertoire of strokes. A high degree of fencer's skill, good automation
and variety of motor habit patterns and ease of application of technique
are fundamental factors in increasing the fencer's psychological and
technical resistance to"negative surprise". By developing in the course
of training technical prowess, general fitness, accuracy of perception,
speed of reaction and movements one and at the same time shapes "sense
of fencing surprise", choice of time.

In
an attempt to penetrate more deeply into the phenomenon of "timing" let
us try to classify it. Thus a competition who "picks up" the initiative
and begins a movement may crate a situation in which he falls into
"negative time" and receives a hit or, to the contrary, a fencer who
initiates the development of a certain technical situation creates for
himself the advantage of "positive time" and so scores a hit.

Among
the manifestations of "fencing surprise" are situations which: a)a
competitor, usually when defending himself, takes advantage of the
situation which has arisen mostly on the opponent's initative; b)
thesituation given rise to the "fencing surprise" is created by the
fencer, mostly attacker, who imposes his movements and initiative.

We
could further differentiate the ways in which a competitor perceives
and assesses the tactical situation (only after the assessment of a
given situation its motor complement in the form of a fencing action may
follow) as: a) visual, b) tactile, c) kinaesthetic or d) auditory.In
assessing a situation not only one receptor is involved but several, to
varying degrees, e.g. not only touch but touch and sight and
motor-muscular sense; not only sight but sight and hearing. For example,
in the execution of parry-riposte a very important role is played by
tactile sensation but under the control of sight;in timing the beginning
of attack to the movement of the opponent's feet not only sight but
hearing the rhythm of steps plays a large part.Usually, however, one
sense a role in the perception of a particular situation.

To
give detailed examples of various manifestations of "fencing surprise"
would be space consuming and not entirely necessary as any fencer will
do this for himself, calling on the reserves of his rich experience. The
most important factors concerning "fencing surprise"can be summarised
in the following concise points:

In
our discussion on "fencing surprise" instead of time and Moment we have
stressed the importance of a complex tactical situation comprising many
various factors (which, like all material phenomena, takes place in
time.

"Fencing surprise" is an integral part of any bout and an essential factor in the result of the bout.

"Feeling for timing" is inborn but should be cultivated in fencers by perfecting technique, reaction and tactics together.

The
concious strengthening of a fencer's resistance to unexpected
situations require a very high automation of movement - a very high
degree of acquisition of motor habit patterns. This facilitates the
switch of attention from the execution of movements towards: choice of
time, tactical situation and variety of action.

The
constant tempo and character of movements (rhythm, direction,amplitude
and speed) makes the correct assessments of situation and choice of
counter-action comparatively easy. Every change in rhythm,speed,
strength and amplitude of movements interferes with the correct
assessment of the tactical situation. This caused the decision to be
either delayed or incorrect.

The
above is probably connected with various processes of inhibition and
excitation in the brain cortex and requires further and detailed study
by physiologists and psychologist.

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